Sunday, May 22

Ha Ha! The Russians jumped the starting gun!

Pundita stop hopping up and down; a woman of your age -- really. Now where was I? Well maybe it's May 25 by the Russian calendar. As to what's supposed to happen on May 25, this is a good moment to remind everyone to read Sputnik. [laughing] Stop it, just stop it; you're an embarrassment to your age group, do you know that?Russian Airforce drops tens of bombs on rebel supply road to AleppoBy Chris Tomson22/05/2016AMN

Rebels in the provincial capital of Aleppo were given no rest tonight as the Russian Airforce systematically targeted insurgent areas in Syria’s largest city. Russian airstrikes were observed in the evening hours at the Handarat district (north Aleppo), Karam al-Tarrab (east Aleppo), the Al-Sakhour neighbourhood (east Aleppo), and notably along the Castello road.

The latter road represents the only supply line for rebels to Aleppo city.

Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes also struck Haritan and Kafr Hamra, two towns west of Aleppo which are stepping stones for goods and arms to reach rebels inside Aleppo city. At the Al-Sakhour neighbourhood, one airstrike destroyed a factory used to manufacture improvised explosives (IED) for Jabhat al-Nusra, according to intel. Some 50 airstrikes are estimated to have been conducted this evening; the majority of which were carried out by Russian pilots.

Remarkably, the densely populated Old Aleppo neighbourhoods in central Aleppo were left untouched today by Russian and Syrian warplanes. This suggests the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) will likely resume its efforts to close the insurgent supply route in rural Aleppo and not opt for an all-out urban warfare strategy in central Aleppo.

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